Soup Base & Casserole Un-Recipe

You don’t really want to know what was on the menu for dinner this evening. It was the dreaded “housewife casserole”. We have had a crazy week and because of basketball for Thing 1, a terrible cold that has been keeping The Bubba and Pee-Wee up in the night (you know what that means for the Mamma and the Goof) drastic measures needed to be taken. Not to mention the truck was out of commission for three days so I have not had any time to shop or menu plan.

I really don’t like to plan, in fact I’ve told my husband before I wish we didn’t even have to eat! Don’t get me wrong I like good food as much as the next person, especially the dark chocolate, creme filling, goey dessert kind…but that’s a different story. The thing that I can’t stand about food (often made worse having to eat gluten free) is having to eat bad food because you can’tmake it through the day without calories! And believe me (I am the Mamma Goof after all) I have lots of days where I’m too busy or too tired to bake a good meal and so we just eat, because we must. I just go the calories lecture this morning and no, a half bag of chocolate chips does not count! Well I’m sure it has plenty of calories but that isn’t the kind the Goof was talking about. Truth be told, I worry my husband because, like Mr. Ego on Ratatouilli, “if I don’t like it I don’t swallow!”

This was one of those just get the calories kind of days but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised when it actually turned out well. This is also a practical solution to the problem of not being able to find gluten free cream soups. I’m no gourmet chef and I wouldn’t write home about it but this definitely works on a busy, basketball practice evening.

This is my Un-Recipe for Chicken & Rice Housewife Casserole

Do I really have to go there? (Shopping List) gf=gluten free

The good news is, you probably won’t have to go there this time, well maybe for the powdered milk

What’s that you say? Why does she keep calling it the Un-Recipe? Well here you have it I think all will become clear in the next couple of minutes…

Mostly cook the Rice. That’s like “mostly dead” but if you have never seen Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail, you will have no idea what I’m talking about- and I’m not recommending it or otherwise endorsing it if you have not, in fact seen it. It is one of those movies you only have to see once as a teenager to get it stuck in your head! Sorry, lets get back to the Un-Recipe…

If you use instant rice, DONT cook it! Got it? Easy right?

Place the meat (usually chicken since this is the Chicken & Rice Housewife Casserole) and the rice in a 9X13 pan.

You know this is where you have to get creative, I’ve had a busy day, you’ve had a busy day, this pretty much works no matter how you look at it, it’s not, after all, gourmet! One chicken breast, or four, use boneless whatever (probably even ground beef or tofu would work) then you estimate the rice. I cooked what I usually make for the 6 of us you will probably want to use 1cup rice and 2cups water. Rice is cooked with a 1:2 ratio, that’s one thing I’ve got memorized! Of course, if you get fancy on me it doesn’t always work out. My mom cooks basmati rice and various other fancy stuff, good for her, I don’t have time to read the package this time! You don’t have time to listen to all this rambling!

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Handy Dandy Soup Base:

In a dish (or glass canning jar) mix powdered milk with gf flour (I use rice flour) or corn starch (more flour than milk), and add garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. It’s an Un-Recipe, remember! Just mix some up, keep some for later whenever you need cream soup (in that glass canning jar) and throw some into the rice and water mixture then…

Getting Back to the Casserole:

Put all the stuff in the casserole dish, the only amount that you need to be precise about is the ratio of water to rice whether you cook it first or put instant rice and water in the dish you don’t want too much water to make it soggy.

Bake in your oven approx 40min– the meat I used was quite thick so I think it actually went 50min, check with a instant read thermometer to be sure. Sometimes if I am using thick meat I cover the dish with tin foil for part of the time so it doesn’t get dried out!

There you have it. Housewife heaven; the un-recipe for basketball evening casserole!

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Sourdough Update

Many of you have been checking back for results on my sourdough creation. At the moment it is still a science experiment, but a happy, bubbly experiment. Never fear, recipes will be here! I did make a beautiful, moist and delicious loaf of sourdough using yeast and a myriad of other ingredients but I'm still trying to create something more user friendly. Wouldn't it be awesome to have a starter on the counter that you could add 4 things to and have a loaf of bread by dinner? Mmmm!
Attempt #1 - rose well but resulted in a dense chewy blob
Attempt #2 - rose ok but was thin and lifeless then fell and another dense (not so chewy) blob
Attempt #3 - to the dogs!
Attempt #4 - A sourdough pancake success see post under what's for breakfast gluten-free goof?
Ongoing - I've tried several more times and am going to try a completely different approach on the bread starting this week. (Mar 18). My sourdough is still happy on my counter and it makes great pancakes but it's a lot of work just for pancakes. Keep checking!
April Update:
She is still kickin and I'm still workin on a yeast free, gluten free sourdough loaf!
May Update:
My sourdough "pet" has been dried and retired until next baking season. I've traded her in for a hotter model, the BBQ! :)